Making impact is paramount to me –Oludare Omolaja

Oludare Omolaja, 34, is the MD/CEO of Affirmatives Entertainment and the founder of Tulk Entrepreneurial Network. He speaks with TOFARATI IGE about some of his activities

What are your educational qualifications?

I grew up in Lagos, and for my elementary education, I attended Oluwole Christ the King Schools, Ejigbo, Lagos. I went to St. Saviours Schools, Alimosho, Lagos; for my secondary school education. After that, I got a diploma in Industrial and Labour Relations from the Olabisi Onabanjo University. I then proceeded to the University of Lagos, Akoka, where I bagged a Bachelor in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management.

What led to the creation of Tulk Entrepreneurial Network?

Tulk Entrepreneurial Network is actually God’s own idea of a non-governmental organisation. Being a business inclined person, I ordinarily would have jettisoned the idea a long time ago, but when a vision is induced upon you by a greater influence, everything you do just seems to auto-galvanise in that direction. The name Tulk, a play on the word ‘talk’, first came about from our flagship brand, Tulk Magazine, which I and my team founded in 2009. It is basically centred on youth entrepreneurship. Tulk Magazine’s aim was essentially to reach out to entrepreneurial role models, and ask questions that the average youth entrepreneur would have wanted to ask, and get the answers published for our readers. We circulated in campuses nationwide.

At some point, it seemed like reading stories was not getting us close to achieving the change we wanted; then surfaced TEN. Our mission is to raise leaders through youth entrepreneurial development, and inculcation of values and ethics in total accordance with the Bible.

Does that mean only Christians belong to this network?

No. It is just the vision as was given by God. I keep telling people that God is not religious. He created the world; so, He knows there are many religious beliefs, and no one has the right to superimpose his or her belief on another person. It’s okay to reason out matters and agree.

TEN is a niche created at this particular time to reposition the Nigerian youth. The government has made several efforts in the past to re-orientate the youth, but we have come to understand that you really cannot re-orientate without creating a consciousness that there is a being that takes account of your actions, even when the security agencies don’t catch up with you.

What are some of the activities that have been carried out by TEN?

So far, TEN has registered 15,000 members nationwide, and we are looking at having a membership base of up to 100,000 before the end of 2019. We have organised seminars solely sponsored by us, and we have given out free magazines containing interviews with some role-models. Currently, we are having our ‘meet-up sessions’ holding simultaneously on some campuses and localities monthly, and we are increasing the number of our units with a view to expanding outside Nigeria.

What are some of the challenges you have encountered and how have you been able to overcome them?

Starting from our flagship, Tulk Magazine, funding was a challenge. However, we have had the privilege of meeting many celebrities and renowned personalities who have supported us because they believe strongly in what we are doing.

Getting into the corporate world and seeking sponsorship, we found a lot of bottlenecks. I still can mention a good number of advertising agencies owing us till today, even after issuing us adverts.

Also, there are some supposed multinational companies that wouldn’t have anything to do with you, except you parley with their CEOs or top executives. Not because they don’t believe in what you are doing but many only care to look after their own pockets. However, some entrepreneurs, such as Chief Alex Onabanjo and Omooba Segun Adewale, have really shown care and strong belief in the Nigerian youth.

Today, I am a branding consultant, and we conduct training for some big brands; we don’t have to wait at anybody’s door anymore. Our events are solely sponsored in-house by our executive members. So, we say what we want to say; do what we need to do, based on God’s instructions.

In what specific ways does TEN empower youths?

TEN has been empowering youths by organising training to create a mindset of success by teaching timeless entrepreneurial principles. TEN serves as a platform for networking with other entrepreneurs, and encouraging start-up partnerships. We also create access to funding for worthwhile business plans.

What do you love most about what you do?

Making impact is what is paramount to me, and at Tulk, we are fulfilling purpose.

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